Machine for debarking and trimming either standing or felled tree trunks



2, 1949- w. B. EMERY ETAL 2,477,922

MACHINE FOR DEBARKING AND TRIMMI NG EITHER STANDING 0R FELLED TREE TRUNKS Filed Sept. 18, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet l Inuutorg 61-; 55 hi erfl m f/ 8 Attameys Aug 2, 1949.

1 w. B. EMERY EIAL 2,477,922 MACHINE FOR DEBARKING-A'ND' TRIHMI'NG EITHER Filed Sept. 18, 1946 STANDING OR FELLED TREE TBUNKS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventors MZZer B.Emar

Attorneys I 7.2 57. 1.3. v I {5 57 1949- w. B. EMERY EIAL 2,477,922

MACHINE FOR DEBARKING AND TRIMMING EITHER STANDING OR FELLED TREE TRUNKS Filed Sept. 18, 1946 4 sheets sheet 3 WaZZerB. Em? y 39 5 3g 4 5 3 Attorney:

Patented Aug. 2, 1949 MACHINEEDR DEBARKING AND TRIMMI NG STANDING OR FELLED TREE 'TRUNKS Walter in; Enema Hugh Shuff,

Birmingham; Ala.

Application-September 18, 1946, Serial No. 697,612 6Claims.-. (Cl.-144-208') .pm mcmnrmcne tree. trimmingthe ameformuttlngdzhetree into sections. eofitthe dnrention is to provide the:- aiorcdescribed character wheminfithe tractiom means anclthe bark-stripand :tlmhirhnming aneans are .yieldably held in; 1 tr-vnththertneezttunktocpermit said elementsrtoryield in ncconiance with the contour at the treexruzflcr Still aiurthercobiect of theinventionisioprovfiesia; :machine formed 1' of sections, and. which .sectimisarereach separablyaor hingedly connected to'enable-the machine to be'readily applied to or emoueittromzatree trunk.

Nmnenmszotherrobjects; and. :advantagesofthe will'hereinaiter .becomemoreiully apparent 7, from following descrintion;.- of the "dxawings;.;illnstrating a -=preferred, embodiment thereof; and: wherein- Figureclris plan .i'iew. of a. preierred embodimenhzofrtherbarki-removing machine Hgurevldssa slde 'elevational view, partly in vertical: section thereoi;

his a horizontalseotional view, through the machine takenlsubstanti'ally along aplane as 1 As best seen in Figure 2, the base section includes an annular inwardly opening channel member l3, to the underside of which is secured a reiatively wide ring M which extends inwardly beyond-the inner part of the ring l3. The parts #3 and H-are formed of substantially semi-circular sections which-are provided with aligned ape-rt-ured lugs i5, connected by a pin -l6to form -ahinge joint and corresponding aperturedlugs 'l-T connected by a pin l8'for securing the base section t together and in a closed positionto form an annular or ring member whichwis adapted to engage-around the trunk of a tree, as indicated in broken lines at 19 in Figure 2.

As best seen in Figures 2 and 3, the rotatable machine section 12 includes a ring gear which is for-med fromcorresponding sections 20 and 2|, each of which is semi-circular. The sections 20 and 2| are-each-provided with a projecting teat i! at oneend thereof and a recess in the opposite end, designated 23. The teats 22 and recesses 23 are arranged to interengage, as seen in FigureB,

for detachably connecting the ring gear sections Zll and- 2|. The gear I2 is provided with outwardly facing shoulders 24, adjacent its top and bottom surfaces which are arranged to bear against the inner edges of the annular channel members l3 and by means of which the ring sections 20 and 2t are retained in assembledrelationship, as seen in Figure 2. The bottom surface of the gear l2 rests upon the inner portion of the annular plate (4 and is supported thereby for rotation in the stationary or base section H. Aplurality oi plates 25 are secured to the upper surface of the ring gear l2 and project outwardly therefrom so that the outer portions of the plates 25 overlie the. upper portion of the annular chan 'nel member l3, as seen in Figure 2.

Asbest seen in Figure 4, a plurality, preferably .three traotion .units 26' are supported in dependingpositions beneath the base section II by attachment to t-heunderside of the annular member [4. As seen in Figures 2, 4 and 5, each of the traction units 26 includes a-depending compressed air cylinder 21 having an open lower end from which projects a piston rod 28 of a piston 29 which is reciprocally disposed therein. Each of thelmitslfi also include a pair of apertured lugs ill-which are secured to and depend fromthe plate and which form a journal for a shaft 3| which extends therethrough. An inverted L- shaped lever 32 is pivotally mounted at its apex on the shaft 3| on the outer side oiand adjacent each lug 38. A "pair of thelevers 32 constitutes. partoi-eachof the tractionunits 26 and the longer arms 33 thereof extend downwardly and are aper tured at .their lower ends to form journals for the ends of a shaft 34 which extends axially through a traction roller 35 and which is keyed thereto. It will thus be readily apparent that the pair of lever arms 33 combine to journal the traction roller 35 therebetween and one or both ends of the shaft 34 is provided with a chain sprocket 36 over which an endless chain 31 is trained. The chain 31 is trained over a similar sprocket 38 which is keyed to the shaft 3 so that the shaft 34 and roller 35 will be drivenby the rotation of the shaft 3|. It will be readily ap parent that a pulley and belt arrangement or shaft and bevel gear arrangement could be substituted for the sprocket and chain drive as illustrated.

The opposite, shorter arms 39 of the L-shaped levers 32 extend outwardly and are pivotally connected by pins 40 to the ends of a U-shaped yoke 4| which forms a part of the traction unit 26 and which connects the pair of levers 32 thereof together. The outer end of the piston rod 28 is pivotally connected to the intermediate portion 42 of the yoke 4| so that reciprocatory movement of the piston rod 28 will rock the levers 32 to swing the traction rollers 35 of the three traction units 26 toward or. away from the tree trunk I9. Each of the traction rollers 35 is provided with outwardly projectingspikes or cleats 43 which are adapted to bite into .eitherthe bark or debarked portion of the tree trunk I9 for assuring traction for the machine in its movement up or down the tree trunk, as will hereinafter be explained.

As best seen in Figure 4, the shaft 3| is common to all of the traction units 26 and is provided with a plurality of universal joints 44 to accommodate the various changes in direction which are required in the shaft 3|. As seen in Figure 4, the shaft 3| crosses the dividing line between the semi-circular sections of the base II at one side only thereof and said portion 45 of the shaft 3|, as best seen in Figure 8, is formed by a polygonalshaped socket and correspondingly shaped projection which are capable of ready separation to enable the sections of the base to be swung to open position for application to or removal from the tree trunk The plate |4 also supports an electric motor 46 which is secured thereto and depends therefrom and through which a portion of the shaft 3| extends. The shaft 3| is driven by the electric motor 46 for driving the traction rollers 35 as a unit and said motor 46 is of a conventional reversible type for enabling the shaft 3| and traction rollers 35 to be revolved in either direction.

One or a plurality of storage tanks 41 for compressed air are suitably secured to the underside of the plate I4 and are connected by tubular conduits 48 to the cylinders 21, adjacent the upper or closed ends of the latter, so that when air is admitted to the cylinders, the pistons 29 will be forced outwardly for rocking the lever arms 33 inwardly, to thereby move the rollers 35 into engagement with the tree trunk IQ for moving the machine It) upwardly or downwardly thereon when said traction rollers are revolved in either direction by the electric motor 46. The conduit 48 may be provided with a coupling 49 at the point where it extends across the dividing line of the ring sections to either flexibly or detachably connect the parts on opposite sides thereof.

One section of the annular channel member I3 is provided with an integral enlargement 50 which is substantially tangentially disposed relatively thereto and which forms an inwardly opening housing for a worm 5|, contained therein, as best seen in Figure 3. The end portions of the housing are provided with reduced openings 52 forming bearings for journaling the ends of a shaft 53 which is keyed to and projects from the ends of the worm 5|. As best seen in Figure 2, the outer portion of the gear I 2 is reduced in width and is provided with an annular worm gear toothed portion 54 which meshes with the worm 5| and by means of which the section |2 is revolved by rotation of said worm.

As best illustrated in Figure 4, an electric motor 55 is suitably secured to or formed integral with the outer portion of the housing 50 and depends therefrom. The housing of the motor 55 is provided with a tubular extension 56 at one end thereof, forming a journal or bearing for the driven shaft 51 of the motor 55. The tubular extension 56 is provided with an enlarged head 58 at its outer end which projects laterally therefrom and which is provided with a bearing portion 59 in alignment with one of the bearing portions 52 and through which one end of the shaft 53 extends and in which said end is journaled.

The enlargement 58 is provided with a hollow interior containing an endless chain 60 and a. pair of sprocket wheels, not shown, keyed to the outer ends of the shafts 53 and 51 and over which the chain 60 is trained for driving the worm shaft 53 from the motor shaft 51 to revolve the worm 5 A plurality, preferably three, compressed air cylinders 6| are suitably secured to and project upwardly from the plates 25 of the rotatable unit l2. The cylinders 6| are disposed adjacent the outer edge of the plates 25 and in circumferentially spaced relationship and each contains a reciprocating piston 62 having a piston rod 63 projecting upwardly through the upper, open end of its cylinder 6|, as best seen in Figure 6. A yoke 64, corresponding to the yokes 4| has its intermediate portion pivotally connected to the upper, free end of the piston rod 63 and has its legs de-- pending downwardly therefrom and pivotally connected at their free ends to corresponding ends of a pair of links 65. A pair of apertured lugs 66 are associated with each cylinder 6| and project upwardly from the plates 25, adjacent its inner edge and form journals for a shaft 61, which extends therethrough. The opposite ends of the links 65 are keyed to the ends of the shaft 61 on the outer sides of the lugs 66. The plate 25 is secured to the upper surface of the inner part of the gear |2 by a plurality of screw fastenings 68. An elongated link 69 has one end disposed between the pair of lugs 66 and keyed to the intermediate portion of the shaft 61 and projects upwardly and inwardly therefrom, substantially at a right angle to the links 65.

A bark stripping and branch trimming cutting blade, designated generally I0 is pivotally mounted on the upper, free end at each of the three links or levers 69 by means of an apertured lug H which projects outwardly from the blade of the cutter 10 and which is pivotally connected by a pintle 12 to the free end of its associated link or lever 69. The blade 10 may assume various forms, and in the embodiment as illustrated, includes an elongated blade which is adapted to bear against the tree trunk l9 and longitudinally thereof and one or both longitudinal edges 13 of which is sharpened for peeling the bark from the trunk I!) when the blades 10 are rotated circumferentially around the tree trunk. The blades 10 are preferably each provided with an arcuate or train-Tr rev'twes therearotiiid'. Numerous ether "the 'tree trunk as they ardadvancedfi'nfalfelibal tin-act as guides rerjurg'iiig the pokiiiiei u'pper u inwardly mu ime eneeg ei eiir'iiith the tree "brariches' to "be" renewed. *m' bestsen in "tine br a 'plu'r'ality dfstiirageftanks 1'5 semen;- "prss'ed air whicn ere' nephew o the iipper' side thereof and fixedly secured, "preferably to "the "vidiii'g li'nes 'ofthe semi circuiei m'achinese'ctions.

A pair of radially disposed cylinders"!!! are each secured "to the u'ppe'r 's'u'fface "or 'the gear I2,

preferably in diametrically opposed relationship d which'seats agaih'St'the innere'nd of thecylir'i'der 19 and which tends 'to bias "the"cuttlng 'tool 8| toward a retracted.positionwithin the cylinder 79. The cylinder '19, adjacent its outer end is provided with an opening 85 and the outer end tl1ere6fi5"closed'by eplu tsfwnieh is th'fadedly engaged therein and provided with an inwardly projectin lug 81 to limit the inward movement of the tool head 83 to prevent it from closing the inlet ports 85. The inlet ports 85 are connected to the storage tank or tanks by conduits 88 having flexible or detachable couplings 89 for the same purpose as the couplings 18. The conduits 88. between the cylinders 19 and the storage tanks 15 are provided with solenoid valves 90 which normally function to bleed the cylinders 19 to the atmosphere, but which, when energized, permit the passag of compressed air from the storage tank or tanks 15 to the cylinders 19 for projecting the cutter tools 8| so that the cutting edges 32 thereof will be brought into engagement with the tree trunk l9. Both of the cylinders 19 may be connected by a single conduit to one of the storage tanks 15 in which case a single solenoid valve will be required or if the cylinders 19 are connected by separate conduits 88 to separate storage tanks 15, a separate solenoid valve will be utilized in each conduit 88, in which case both solenoid valves will be actuated as a unit by a conventional electric circuit.

From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that the machine In may be readily assembled "*"eratfdn ijf the' n). "Ihe"ele ctricmotors "%e'and"55-ahiif the soieiioidwaiveswo'are con- "nected"to"a* suitablesource of electric"curre'nt, not shown, by electrical donductorsfinot sli't'iiivn,

"br siiiirient ae'iigjtirtofa'cbonimodate the m'ove- "frieiit of the"ma i iliine 1'0 to "its 'reqllired height on "the tree-crime l9. Suitableelectric switches are prbvided foi 'e'rfer'g'izin'g and deenergizing theele'ctrio motors 46 and 55 and the solenoid valvesfifl eniel' for*r-wersirigitireuireetimriir'wiiieiithe elect'ric'"ni'otor"46 is driven. The switches "or fcont'rols maybe ldca'tedadjacentthe source ofelecftriccurientffor example-aunt; base of'thet'ree "-tru'nlr' '19 and onveriient to "the operator "of the ni'achifie'lll. iks'sum'ing tliattheswitches orcontrols are set to cause the motor'hfito b'edriven ime eire'e'i'i nfso that 'thetra'tion *risn-erse s 'wiu weave upwardly'of 'theftree truiijk' and further assuming-that the electric *mo'toffi'ii is energized ier 'r't o'lving themiachine unit [2 through" the v'v'drlm' stand evprm gear 54, as prev o s d "sciibed;-"the machine ifo-wii1 be caused'to "move upwardlybfthetree"tri1nk f9 at-any desired spedfwith' the ni'achine s'ectionWz "revolving ttitliiii tninaihine fsebtionfljl' sothafthetalittliig ge f3-'-of "the"-'blades"l0 Willbefv'dliiedin' a helical or epire ininvementar'ound the treetrunk for pelingthe' bark therefrom and so 'that" the ""SaLtilsoiitEdgsfifiWlll"trimofi thebia'nclies' of 'tlieftre. Durin'g this*upward movement ofthe 'inachined ofthe solenoid valves'90are' 'de'energized to-retaintlre cutter tools' ii I in rtractedp'ositions o'iit' of-engfa'gm'enirwithfthe' tree trunk I 9. When :"thefbark"has been' 'peeiedtrr 'to' the required 'hefg'litj th'e *electricmotor' '46'is reversed to drive the-jsnartbl'in'tnetp osite direction so that the ftractiori rollers"35 willbe"driven in'the opposite "'diietion'to"cause them'achine l0 to'inove down- "Wafdlyhftlie 't'rtiinik. 'At. predetermined lodatiorisoftlidmahirie T0 on the'tree trunk [9, the motor 46 can be deenergized for rendering the machine in stationary as to longitudinal movement on the tree trunk and with the motor energized for revolving machine section I2, the solenoid valves 90 may be energized for projecting the cutter tools 81 so that the cutting edges 82 thereof will execute a circular cut to cut off the tree trunk at any elevation desired. It will be readily apparent that this operation may be repeated for cutting the tree trunk from top to bottom in a plurality of sections.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, an annular machine section formed of separable semi-annular portions adapted to be detachably positioned about a standing tree trunk, an annular rotatable machine section formed of separable semi-annular portions supported by the first mentioned machine section and detachably positioned around the tree trunk, driven traction means carried by the first mentioned machine section for engagement with the tree trunk for moving the machine upwardly anddownwardly thereof, adjustable cutter means carried by the rotatable machine section for engagement with the treetrunk and having cutting edges extending longitudinally and circumferentially of the tree for peeling the bark therefrom and for trim- .ming oil branches, respectively, and driven means for revolving said rotatable section relatively to the first mentioned section and as the machine is moved lengthwise of the tree trunk-for simultaneously peeling the bark and trimming the branches of the trunk.

2. A machine as in claim 1, said traction means including driven rollers for engagement with the tree trunk and yieldable actuating means for retaining said rollers in engagement with the trunk.

3. A machine as in claim 1, said traction means including a plurality of rollers, levers pivotally supported by the machine, said rollers being journaled in said levers, and actuating means bearing on said levers for rocking them in a direction to urge the rollers into engagement with the tree trunk.

4..A machine as in claim 1, said bark peeling and'l'imb, trimming means including a plurality of cutting blades, levers pivotally supported by said machine and on which said blades are pivotally mounted and yieldable means bearing on said levers for urging the-blades into yieldable engagementwith the tree trunk.

5. In a machine of the character described, an annular machine frame formed of separable sections adapted to be disposed detachably around ..a tree trunk and supported thereby, an annular rotatable machine unit formed of separable sections rotatably supported in said frame, means for revolving said unit relatively to the frame, bark stripping cutters carried by said unit for engagement with the tree trunk and having cutting edges extending longitudinally of the trunk, and driven traction means carried by the machine frame for engagement with the tree trunk for moving the machine lengthwise thereof for causing the bark stripping cutters to execute a helical stripping operation of the bark, said bark stripping cutters also including cutting edges disposed circumferentially of the trunk for trimming off branches from the tree trunkin advance of the machine. I

6. .In a machine of the charateii des'cribed, an annular machine frame formed ofseparable sections adapted tobe disposed detachably around a standing tree. trunk and supported thereby, an annular rotatable machine unit formed of. separable sections rotatably supported in said frame, means for revolving said unit relatively to the frame, bark stripping cutters carried by said unit for engagement with the tree trunk and having cutting. edges extending longitudinally of the trunk, and driven traction means carried by the machine frame for engagement with the tree trunk for moving themachine lengthwise thereof for causing the bark stripping cutters to execute a helical stripping operationof the bark, a plurality of lever memberspivotally mounted on .the machine and connected to the traction means and bark stripping cutters for swingably supporting said parts relatively to the machine and to the tree trunk, and fluid pressure operated means mounted on said frame sections andbearing on said levers for yieldably retaining the traction means and bark stripping means in engagement with the tree trunk. I

' A TER B .'EMERY.

REFERENCES jcrrrin The following ,refeifences are. of -record in the file of this patent:

S'ITES PATENTS Number V Name. I Date 397,114 Dolsen Feb. 5, 1889 707,428 Kidder Aug. 19, .1902 739,495 Kidder Sept,'2 2 1903 742,447 Kidder -L. 0.01;. 27, 1903 1,243,294 Hruska .0012. 15, 1917 1,299,289 Berg r Apr. 1, 1919 1,957,792 McManis May 8, 1934 2,109,414 Deiters et a1 Feb. 22, 1938 2,174,525 ,Padernal Oct. 3, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 12,282 Great Britain Aug. 25, 1888 722,254 France Dec. 28, 1931 

